The Lottery Part 2: Through Bill's Eyes
by Bears33
Summary: The classic short story of "The Lottery" Part 2: Through Bill's perspective


Stephen Skul

Prof. Blake

Interpretation of Literature

9/16/13

The Lottery Part 2

"It isn't fair, it isn't right" still echoed in Bill Hutchinson's head as the final stones were thrown at his wife bringing her to her inevitable death. It was just another year of tradition, something that was the norm in this village. But why was he feeling the way that he did? Why did he begin to question it? Sure, it was his wife whom he loved that unfortunately "won" the lottery, but this was just a harsh reality that many families faced year in and year out. After Tessie was pronounced dead, a couple of people went to dispose of her badly beaten body, one being Jack Watson, accompanied by a few other teenage boys. The families begin to disperse and Mr. Summers thanked everyone for their participation and attendance. He smiled and said, "I look forward to seeing you all next year. Have a good season and may our harvest be ever plentiful this year." Bill told his daughter Nancy to take her brothers back home and that he would meet them there in a little while. Everyone had left except for Mr. Summers and Old Man Warner.

"Bill I'm sorry about your wife but you know it had to be done" said Mr. Summers hardly looking sympathetic.

Old Man Watson chimed in with, "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon."

"Ah yes I realize it is what tradition has told us all of these years. Gather our village each year and let their lives be put to chance, all to make sure our harvest is a good one. But did you ever think that maybe this is just nonsense and these killings don't affect anything in our growing seasons?"

"Bill, you have proceeded with these activities for as long as I have known you. Never once have you questioned what this tradition has brought us. I suggest you go home with your family, who I if I may add, enthusiastically helped stone your wife to death. It's nothing personal, it's just how things are, even you know that."

Bill half smiled and left the scene of which just moments ago his bloodied wife has been stoned to death by some of her closest friends and her "loving family", including himself. He soon begins to feel a tremendous amount of regret for not only his actions against his wife, but for what he had previously done for the past number of years. He asks himself why he has continued to follow this corrupt tradition without so much as a bat of an eyelash. He then replays the lottery in his head thinking of how people have reacted over the years. Yes, they have continued to stone their own brothers and sisters, but did anyone ever have any hesitation? Surely, they must have. They were just too afraid to stand up and say it. They would rather go along with the crowd than risk being ostracized by their community. He remembers Mr. Adams saying that other villages have stopped the lottery. A crazy idea hatches in his head that maybe, just maybe their village could stop this madness as well.

Many days pass as Bill goes around in secret trying to gain perspectives of how some of the people of the village truly feel about the lottery. Bill talks to many people saying that their conversations are strictly confidential knowing that he is risking himself being an outcast in the community by coming to them. One of the people he goes to is Mrs. Dunbar. After a pleasant hello she invites him in to the house.

"How's the old leg treating you these days Mr. Dunbar?"

"Very well thank you, it is finally all healed up and I will be able to attend the lottery next week."

"That's what I am here to talk to you about Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar. Now I am going out on a limb here telling you this but I know I must express my feelings."

Mrs. Dunbar's smile soon turned to a nervous wince with the suspense of what Bill was going to say next.

"Have you guys ever thought about life if we never had the lottery? What if we didn't have to live in fear each year that someone close to us is going to have to die? I know it has been our tradition and that we have all done these lotteries year in and year out. But with this past one with Tessie, it got me thinking. What if we are doing this all for nothing? What if these killings don't even have anything to do with the outcome of our fortune and harvest seasons?

Both Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar look surprised at the words coming out of Bill's mouth. They appeared speechless, sitting in silence, eyes wide open and an emotionless face. Finally, the silence is broken.

Mr. Dunbar: "Bill you realize that you and your family killed your own wife. Even your little Davy stoned his own mother with his little pebbles that he was given?"

"Yes, but I won't even begin to go in detail on how many times I wish I could take it back—take all the lotteries back. It isn't right and I believe that you as well as many of the village people feel the same way."

Mrs. Dunbar: "Well of course we have never necessarily liked the lottery. Heck, I just always want it to be over with, but how are we going to convince the village to all of a sudden stop the tradition they have come to known over the past numerous years?"

Bill begins to tell his plan to the Dunbar's: to only ask a select group of people to join them. He didn't want to risk being found out before the lottery and he knew that a lot of people would never go against tradition of the village. He goes on to ask the past five or so families who lost someone in the lottery whom to his fortune all agree, after some heavy back and forth and arguing of course, to take part in his plan to stop it from happening this year. He hopes that if more people start speaking up that he can sway the village in his favor. Next week came and finally, it was that time of year again: the morning of June 27th. It seemed just like any other day, the sun was shining and the air was crisp, but it most certainly was not just any day. The village began to gather getting ready for the lottery as Bill, the Dunbars, and the other ten families joined them. Mr. Summers was getting ready to start as Bill began to shout something out and walk up next to Mr. Summers.

"Oh Bill, it's good to see you. Why don't you pick first?"

"No, I'm done with this. All of this. This lottery is over."  
Mr. Summers began to laugh and the crowd began to join in laughing softly, uneasily.

"Don't be a fool Bill; we had this same conversation over a year ago. It is tradition"

"Well maybe it's time for us to start a new tradition. A tradition where we make our own fortune and stop these human sacrifices once and for all!"

The crowd was completely silent. Waiting for what Mr. Summers had to say.

Mrs. Dunbar suddenly shouted, "Yeah. This has to end. I'm tired of this nonsense we hold every year. The damn harvest will be fine as long we tend to our crops!"

Everyone looked at Mrs. Dunbar with a look of disgust. Smirking and thinking how dare she go against her community, against what has been a tradition for over a hundred years. Then people from the other families Bill recruited began to speak up stating that they too agreed with what was being said. Suddenly, murmurs began over the village. How could these families be saying these things? The next few moments, Bill would never forget. This was the moment, either someone else would speak up and agree outside of the families he selected, or the rest of the village would be silent. His heart beat loudly as he looked around for someone to scream out that they were sick of the lottery too.

Nobody did.

"How dare you Bill! And to the other families that spoke up, how dare you question this. What did Bill pay you to join in his mutiny? It was he who killed his wife last year!"

Suddenly the families who spoke out began to regret what they had said after taking a look at the disgusted faces of their friends. They soon were silent. It was only Mrs. Dunbar who still was on Bill's side. Not even Mr. Dunbar wanted to join his wife anymore. The looks he had received from the others made him feel like he was a complete outcast.

Mr. Summers: "Well hey if you don't want to have a lottery this year then why don't you just volunteer?"

Mrs. Dunbar: "Just stop this madness, this is crazy. People listen to what Bill has been saying!"

Bill came to realization this plan of his was a failure. He looked out into the crowd hoping for some remorse, only getting it from Mrs. Dunbar who came up to join him.

Mr. Summers: "So you want to change tradition, why don't you offer yourself up and save a family from going through a hardship? It will be the first year it isn't random. There's your change"

To Mrs. Dunbar's dismay Bill agrees: "It's the only way. I don't want to live in this corrupt village anyway if this is what its people stand for. But I promise you that this harvest will be the worst yet and that your crops with not grow until you stop the lottery. All of these years the lottery has been for nothing. You will all see."

Bill makes the ultimate human sacrifice as the village begins to gather their stones and unleash them upon him. And during that harvest season, no corn grew.


End file.
